Medical school is of course the traditional route for providing prospective doctors with the core knowledge and tools for the practice ahead. By not including FGM as a part of this process, information of even the basic nature of FGM is not being disseminated across the profession. A condition that affects over 130,000 women across the UK should be known to students who can also come into contact with patients that have undergone FGM or at risk of the act.

Today is a vital date for London not least because in the UK an estimated 103,000 women have undergone FGM and 20,000 girls are at risk... We must seize the opportunity to empower millions of women and girls around the world. For a long time international development has been seen as something 'we' do to the rest of the world. That is an outdated worldview which must be broken down.

There is something undeniably wrong with people who feel that they're not feminists but they believe in women's rights. Or they're not feminists but they believe in the strength of women. Or they're not feminists but they believe that women shouldn't be treated like crap by men. Or they're not feminists but they want to feel like their voice matters.

Around the world it is estimated that one billion women and girls are subject to abuse. That is a horrifying thought and we want to support the "One Billion Rising" campaign to raise awareness of this and help to halt this abuse.

Was it to do with the control of women's and girls' bodies? Was it an older generation demonstrating that they had the ability to show authority, to violate their young? Was it about traumatised women visiting the same pain on girls, using custom as an excuse, in some subconsciously re-enacted cycle of abuse?

The basic human rights of children must always over-ride the 'cultural' sensitivities of adults. Until nations everywhere perceive FGM not as a custom, but rather as an epidemic which must be addressed by governments as well as community workers, it will continue to blight the lives of millions. Whole communities over generations suffer because of it.

"I wanted to save lives not put them at risk." That's what a former female genital cutter told me during a visit to Kenya this week, as she explained why she downed her tools and instead became a birth attendant. I believe this woman should be celebrated for taking such a brave stance against the centuries-old tradition of female genital mutilation. And she's not alone.

This week a beautiful little blonde and blue-eyed English girl was horrifically sexually mutilated - by her parents. She will be scarred for life both physically and mentally. She could have died in the attack. This was not a lone assault, however. Such ritualistic violence against children happen on average EVERY week among a particular cult in Britain.

Each of these women had undergone FGM early in their lives, and now, encouraged by my mother, they were talking frankly about how they felt. One of them spoke of the agony that the procedure still caused her three decades later.

The UK has a duty to get behind this momentum and do all we can to keep it going. We owe it to the millions of girls who are at risk of being cut every year. And this is why the UK, through the Department for International Development, will this year become the largest single investor in ending female genital cutting.

After a story trailed in the Sunday Times about a UK Government fund ending FGC, it seemed that the question on everyone's lips was 'how much?' We knew that it was likely to be in the tens of millions, and in the female genital cutting sector that is an unprecedented amount.

Today (6 February) is the International Day for Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation, Campaigners and activists will use the much needed profile that an international awareness day can bring to renew efforts to eliminate this harmful traditional practice.

Today (6 February) is the International Day for Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation, Campaigners and activists will use the much needed profile that an international awareness day can bring to renew efforts to eliminate this harmful traditional practice.

Why in this present day does female genital mutilation or cutting (FGC) continue? For far too long it has been an issue that people have tended to shy away from, and in my view, neglected. But we can no longer shy away.

For the sake of all children, and specifically to halt the hurt to an estimated-average 50 children at risk or victims of female genital mutilation in Britain every day of the entire year, we must demand to know right now exactly who in child safe-guarding is responsible for what.